"We the willing, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, with so little, for so long, we are now qualified to do anything, with nothing" By Konstantin Josef Jireček, a Czech historian, diplomat and slavist.

The face-to-face meeting in Juba between President kiir and Dr. Riek Machar has done nothing to break the political deadlock in South Sudan.

Peter Adwok Nyaba, Juba, South Sudan

President Kiir and Riek Machar, Face to Face meeting in Juba, September 2019

President Kiir and Riek Machar, Face to Face meeting in Juba, September 2019

President Kiir and Riek Machar, Face to Face meeting in Juba, September 2019

President Kiir and Riek Machar, Face to Face meeting in Juba, September 2019

President Kiir and Riek Machar, Face to Face meeting in Juba, September 2019

President Kiir and Riek Machar, Face to Face meeting in Juba, September 2019

President Kiir and Riek Machar, Face to Face meeting in Juba, September 2019

President Kiir and Riek Machar, Face to Face meeting in Juba, September 2019

President Kiir and Riek Machar, Face to Face meeting in Juba, September 2019

President Kiir and Riek Machar, Face to Face meeting in Juba, September 2019

President Kiir and Riek Machar, Face to Face meeting in Juba, September 2019

President Kiir and Riek Machar, Face to Face meeting in Juba, September 2019

President Kiir and Riek Machar, Face to Face meeting in Juba, September 2019

President Kiir and Riek Machar, Face to Face meeting in Juba, September 2019

President Kiir and Riek Machar, Face to Face meeting in Juba, September 2019

President Kiir and Riek Machar, Face to Face meeting in Juba, September 2019

President Kiir and Riek Machar, Face to Face meeting in Juba, September 2019

Thursday,
September 12, 2019 (PW) — The arrival in
Juba on Monday 9 September, 2019 of Dr. Riek Machar at the head of 69-man
delegation, and his meeting with President Salva Kiir did nothing either to
break the ice, as observers of the situation expected, or add any value to the
work of his Advance Team. If anything, the visit spurred bad memories of the
July 2016 fighting in J1, it raised the political temperament to complicate
their chemistry of the two men, and indeed clogged the gears of the R-ARCISS
implementation machinery.

Travelling with such a huge delegation with his security
guarantor, Mohammed Daglo (Hemiti), who was in Juba on an entirely different
mission, Dr. Riek Machar spent three days and returned to Khartoum on Thursday.
He had an agenda-less meeting with President Salva Kiir on Wednesday. To
observant spectator, the face to face meeting was more of a public relations
stint than anything serious warranted by the gravity of the political situation
in South Sudan. This is gleaned from the casual and informal the two leaders
constituted a committee to follow up on the issues they failed to address. It
is not clear whether that unnamed committee would play the role of National
Pre-Transitional Commissions.

President Kiir and Riek Machar, Face to Face meeting in Juba, September 2019

Thursday,
September 12, 2019 (PW) — For a start, this
piece is an introduction to the series of articles which the constant readers will
be consuming on weekly basis under the theme “Streamlining thoughts and Actions
for Peace.” These pieces of writing are purposely for peace building. With the nation
still in a fragile state, trapped in deep conflict and hatred, the citizens are
divided along ethnic and regional lines. There is no trust amongst the people. The
notion of “us versus them” defines the relations amongst the citizens.

The propaganda continues to fuel the conflict. This
situation has paralyzed and retarded the economy and social progress. To join
the voices which are committed to address and mitigate these issues, I have
chosen the above theme to help the readers think for the betterment of this
country. Human actions are driven by thoughts. Those who think positively act
in a similar manner and vice versa. Thoughts affect a society in form of
actions. As we begin the journey of reading the series of articles which will
be appearing in this column weekly, I urge readers to embrace peace as a
mechanism for recovery from the devastations of war.